The Reel World

"It's time for the biggest gladiator match of all time. Son of Krypton versus Bat of Gotham"

In a summer chalked with blockbusters that are expected to defy box office records, dare I say this may be the most anticipated one of them all? When news about this film was first released, opposition rang out on both sides of the spectrum. Some argued that films that feature two characters facing off rarely work, especially when it comes to two heroes. I have to admit that I found myself agreeing with this argument. In my defense, this appeared to me as a clear strategic ploy to fast-track the introduction of the much-anticipated Justice League franchise. Now albeit true, my resistance did waver upon watching the trailer. So as I sat in my seat, anxiously awaiting the lights to dim and the screen to illuminate, one question dawned (pun intended) on me: can the film live up to the hype?

"You want change with no sacrifice. You want peace with no struggle. The world doesn't work that way."

Now that Hunger Games has vacated the crown previously occupied by Twilight, the Divergent series appears to be the only game left in the teen drama genre. Ironically, this series is rounding its final corner with the release of Allegiant, part one of the two-part conclusion to the novel franchise written by Veronica Roth and made popular through Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Miles Teller. The list goes on; however, for the sake of time, we will leave it at that. This time around the heroes find themselves literally in unfamiliar territory, as they discover that the world they knew is larger than they ever imagined.

Bad Robot in my eyes is simply the best at keeping things a secret.  In this day and age to be able to surprise audiences is just about an impossible task.  When the first Cloverfield trailer was released in 2007 in front of Transformers, it was a trailer that had us all guessing up until its release.  In my opinion Cloverfield was one of the best found-footage films to come out, and was a grand achievement considering it was a monster film that had been pretty much been kept under wraps until its actual release.  Bad Robot managed to surprise us again, releasing a trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane that set the internet on fire with theories and hopes for this to be a long-awaited sequel.  But is that what this really is? 

What I want to go ahead and get out of the way is, if you’re hoping for spoilers, there will be none, other than to say if you are expecting a big-budget extravaganza filled with monsters destroying cities, this is not that film.  Don’t waste your money on the big IMAX presentation, because you will feel cheated.  Instead, what 10 Cloverfield Lane delivers is something more intimate than I would have expected, and it takes the thriller genre back to its basics.

”We recognize that it is our responsibility to help ensure that casting decisions reflect the diversity and culture of the time periods portrayed. In this instance we failed to live up to our own standards of sensitivity and diversity, for which we sincerely apologize. Lionsgate is deeply committed to making films that reflect the diversity of our audiences. We have, can, and will continue to do better...”

It's a bad sign when a studio issues a public apology months before the film ever hits the screens. Gods Of Egypt will likely be remembered, if it's remembered at all, as having some of the worst timing of any film ever. Everyone in the industry has seen the report of the lack of diversity in Hollywood. It started with the Oscars and steamrolled to an audit from there. I don't know that I buy all of this completely, and I do fear an exaggerated response in future films. Whatever you think of the controversy, Gods Of Egypt stepped right into the big pile of dog doo (Baby says it isn't hers). The epic fantasy story takes place in ancient Egypt and is cast with a rather obvious number of white Australian actors who just can't sell the whole Egyptian thing. Count Gerard Butler at the top of the list. Here's an actor who usually can't decide exactly what nationality his character is at the best of times. Now you're just setting yourself up for a disaster. In fact, there hasn't been this huge a disaster movie since Irwin Allen hung up his lenses decades ago.

Ever since Michael Mann came along, the bar has been set when it comes to making gritty heist films.  Sure, films have come close in reaching the ranks of Thief and Heat, but close isn’t enough to put films over the top.  When the trailers came along for Triple 9, it was a film that I immediately had my eye on and was curious what director John Hilcoat (The Road and Lawless) would do with the material.  The result is just about the most corrupt cop film to come out in ages and a gritty crime drama full of double-crosses that’ll have you questioning who are the good guys in a sea of so many bad ones.  Is this a modern masterpiece or simply a slick action film?  Well, to be fair, it’s somewhere in the middle.  Strap on your bulletproof vest and grab and extra clip, because Triple 9 throws you in the thick of the action.

In the heart of Atlanta, Georgia, the film opens up with a fun little bank heist that doesn’t go as planned once one of the robbers gets greedy and makes a grab for cash.  For those who have seen the trailer, it’s this cash grab that is responsible for the dye pack explosion that forces the robbers to create a new escape route of their own.  Right off the bat the film was feeling a bit familiar, as I couldn’t help but think about Heat.  But thankfully the film takes an unsuspecting turn once it is revealed that members of this heist crew are cops.

After Robert Eggers received best director out of Sundance, The Witch became a film that went on my radar. Following the release of the trailer to the film, I was hooked; its startling yet beautiful imagery was enough to get my attention.  As buzz built around the film as it continued to awe audiences in various festivals, my anticipation for this film was getting out of control.  Could a film really be this great? Is it possible to make a film that still shocks and terrifies audiences?  By the time I found myself getting to this screening, The Witch now was a film that unfairly had something to prove to me; I poked the bear and dared this film to blow me away. As the lights dimmed and the film played out, I came away with more than I asked for.

The film transports us to New England in the 1630’s.  What is important to keep in mind is the time period; this is a time when scientific reason had no place, and the settlers of the time were ruled by their faith.  The land that surrounded the villages was mostly untouched, and in the darkness, evil was believed to lurk.  Robert Eggers beautifully captures the time period here, everything from the sets, the costumes, to even the Old English dialect used by the characters is authentic and helps immerse us into this time. One of my few nitpicks with the film is that the language is so authentic I had trouble with some of the dialog, as did others around me, and perhaps subtitles could have been used, but I’m afraid it would have taken me out of this world created for us.

A Pew Research Poll in 2012 said that 84 percent of the world’s population believes in God. A Harris poll in 2013 said that 74 percent of Americans believed in God. I’m making some simple statements up front, because the subject is extremely complicated and confusing the more you dip into the well to try to understand. There are 2.3 billion Christians and 1.7 billion Muslims out of the over 7 billion people on the planet. There are 15 million Jews. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism have overlapping tenets of faith, but you would never know it if you look at the history of the world. Religion has become a big disappointment to many. Still, most people in the world would agree that Jesus was a great man who believed in peace and love. Most Christians also believe that Jesus was both God and man. In fact, the surface simplicity of Jesus’s message is somewhat misleading. Many scholars debate to this day what he was really saying. New hidden gospels have been found in the last 75 years, like the Gospel of Thomas, that  suggest new mysterious meanings that might show that Jesus was far more inclusive of all mankind that we might have ever thought before. As I said, this subject is extremely complex and divisive, but as a believer, I think God wants us to love each other. This seems like a ridiculously simple statement, yet the people on this planet cannot seem to embrace what seems so logical. This seems to be driving some people away from religion.

Risen is the story of Clavius (Joseph Feinnes), a Roman tribune, who reports directly to Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth). Clavius’s duties are many. He suppresses insurrections and keeps the peace by any means necessary. Today’s task is to placate Caiaphas (Stephen Greif), the appointed Jewish high priest who has manipulated the people to call for Jesus’s death. Clavius is to ensure that Jesus is dead when taken from the cross and properly sealed in the tomb. Caiaphas wants to suppress rumors that Jesus will rise from the dead and insists that the tomb be guarded. Pilate is even more determined that this should go well, because he is soon to be under scrutiny from Rome.

“Hi...it's been a long time.”

If Project Runway has taught us anything, it's that “in fashion, one day you're in and the next day you're out.” To a lesser extent, that adage can also be applied to comedy stars, since audience's tastes seem to shift almost as often as style trends. (There was a point in time when Pauly Shore was a movie star...that really happened!) As a result, any sequel to 2001's Zoolander — Ben Stiller's really, really, really, ridiculously good looking absurd fashion satire —had the odds stacked against it.

Hail, Caesar is a typical example of a Coen brothers movie, which means it is completely atypical. The Coen brothers are revered for not only being different from everyone else but also making films that are different from each other. It would easy to say there is a Coen brothers style, but you would be reaching, because the two men are committed to exploring things differently each and every time they make a movie (or produce a television show like Fargo). The most characteristic identifying factor is quirkiness and individuality. They are among the few filmmakers working in Hollywood who do whatever the freaking heck they want. What I mean by that is that the movies they make would not be allowed if proposed or pitched by anyone else. They almost take delight in coming up with properties that are daring you to dislike them. At the same time, they make movies that are ridiculously entertaining and smart. Their films are also big Hollywood productions which are usually filled with big stars begging for any part they can get. But I must stress one thing. They don’t care if you like what they do. They could give a flying fig (probably).

Hail, Caesar is about depicting a fictional version of old Hollywood sometime in the 1950’s in a studio that is something like Metro Goldwyn Mayer but called Capital Studios. Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is the studio head busy running things and constantly talking to his boss in New York. He does just about anything and everything from keeping the movie stars out of trouble to changing plot points in troubled productions. He is also being courted by a corporate headhunter trying to fill a top slot at Lockheed. The film is packed with a crazy collection of characters including George Clooney, Channing Tatum, and Scarlett Johansson as three movie stars playing movie stars. My guess is they are playing Victor Mature types, Gene Kelly types, and Esther Williams types. Then there is this other fella that’s kind of, sort of playing a Roy Rogers type (Alden Ehrenreich, who steals every scene he’s in).